Clarks CEO Giorgio Presca exits amid management shake-up

The CEO of Clarks has reportedly left the business along with several other members of the company’s executive team.

CEO Giorgio Presca, chief commercial officer Massimo Barzaghi and chief people officer Difna Blamey all exited the company last week, Drapers reports.

Non-executive director Victor Herrero, who was formerly the CEO of Guess, will assume the dual role of executive chairman and CEO.

Hong Kong-based private equity firm LionRock Capital acquired a 100 million pound majority stake in Clarks late last year.

It came after the 195-year-old British footwear retailer received the green light from its creditors to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).

Victor Herrero is new Clarks CEO

As part of the proposed CVA, Clarks is looking to move 60 of its 320 stores to nil rent.

Earlier this month, Clarks reported an 8 percent pre-Covid drop in sales for the year ended February 2020 to 725.3 million pounds.

The company said the fall reflected “continued difficult conditions in the UK and ROI retail channel as footfall declines continued”.

Its operating loss was 14.1 million pounds, down from a loss of 48.7 million pounds the year before, while its loss after tax was 15 million pounds, compared to a loss of 20.9 million pounds a year earlier.

Commenting at the time on Brexit, the business said it “will have an impact on our profitability and cashflow over the foreseeable future and brings risk and uncertainty in a number of areas”.

FashionUnited has contacted Clarks for comment.

Photo: Clarks, Facebook